BP Graduate Scheme

BP PLC (LSE: BP, NYSE: BP) is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors". It is vertically-integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration and production, refining, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It also has major renewable energy activities, including in biofuels, hydrogen, solar and wind power.

BP has operations in over 80 countries, produces around 3.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and has 22,400 service stations worldwide. As at 31 December 2010 BP had total proven commercial reserves of 18.07 billion barrels of oil equivalent. BP currently invests over $1 billion per year in the development of renewable energy sources, and has committed to spend $8 billion on renewable in the 2005 to 2015 period.

BP's primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

The BP graduate scheme:

Contrary to popular belief, working for BP does not usually constitute working at a petrol station. Although it is possible to apply for a specific position, roles are generally focused around the "Challenger" 3-4 year graduate programme. This is BP's over-arching E&P graduate programme and within this there are many disciplines that one can go into. These different disciplines include chemical and process engineering, civil engineering, drilling and completions engineering, instrument and control engineering (ICE), mechanical engineering, offshore engineering, petroleum and reservoir engineering, chemical engineering, geoscience, petrophysics, HSSE, commercial, finance, procurement and trading. Extensive detail of what these roles entail is available on the website.

BP also offers summer internships lasting for 8-11 weeks and year in industry placements. Internships are available in the same disciplines as the graduate roles above and you will be given a mini project to complete for a specific team.

What you need:Minimum 2.1 degree (in a science/engineering based degree for technical roles). A masters is also helpful but not essential. A degree or masters in a specific petroleum related discipline is useful but not essential. The position is also conditional on rights to work in the UK and a mandatory substance abuse test.